Technology

Automobiles

Carl Benz Automobile

19th century train

• Invented in 1886 by Carl Benz
• Gasoline powered automobiles
• Mass produced after the automobile was finalized

Benefits

• Faster transportation
• Created industrialization opportunities
• More jobs for citizens (workers in factories)
• Less usage of horses, which resulted in streets literally being covered in horse manure.

Negative Consequences

• Evolves into vehicles that are used in wars (Eg. Tanks)

Railways

• 1840s- 1850s
• Development of iron, steel and coal mining

Benefits

• Steel, coal, electrical, chemical, and locomotive industries improved
• transportation efficiency
• 1873-1900, Economy in Germany rose
• Large impact on Germany’s industrialization and was even the first industrialization
• Germany’s industries caught up to Britain’s
• Allowed Germany to transport artillery easily, which was a great advantage in the Franco-Prussian War

Negative Consequences

• Used for wars, transportation of supply and soldiers

Naval Improvements

The SMS Deutschland, the first Deutschland-class Battleship

• Kaiser Wilhelm II and Grand Admiral von Tripitz in particular wanted to expand the German High Seas Fleet
• Built many more battleships, partially in response to British hostility and fear of the HMS Dreadnought, a very powerful British warship
• Based around 5 Naval Laws
• First Naval Law, proposed in 1897 called for 16 battleships to be built by 1990.
• Second Naval Law, proposed in 1900 after the British detained German cargo ships on suspicion of them carrying weapons. The British managed out outrage the Germans, and von Tripitz took advantage of this in order to pass another bill calling for the creation of 19 more battleships
• Third Naval Law was passed in 1906, which called for the creation of 6 more cruisers
• Fourth Naval Law was passed in 1908, which required battleships to be phased out of service every 21 years
• Fifth Naval Law was passed in 1912 called for the creation of 3 more battleships.
• Three, Four and Five were all created due to the fear of the Entente Coridale, or the new British-French alliance.

Benefits

• Forced British into defending the English Channel more heavily with their new Channel Fleet, which consisted of 17 Battleships
• Greatly improved the technology of Naval Warfare, though considering it means humanity in general got better and killing each other, this may not have been a good thing

Negative Consequences

• Intimidated British into giving up their isolationist policy, signing treaties with Japan, France and Russia (Negative from Germany's point of view, obviously)
• Forced Germany into a 2-front war in World War I, though thankfully (For them, at least) Russia left the war after communist revolution took place in Russia.

Haber-Bosch Process

Fritz Haber

• Invented by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch in 1909
• Combine nitrogen and hydrogen to create ammonia
• Functions under high pressure and temperatures

Benefits

• Creates important ingredients for fertilizers
• Allow Germany to produce enough food/supplies during WW1
• Population growth

Negative Consequences

• Fertilizers bad for environment (though this was unknown at the time)

Social & Political Events

1850s: Years of Political Reaction & Economic Growth

• In 1848, middle class attempt to overthrow aristocracy (politically, not militarily)
• They come close to succeeding, but are foiled in 1851
• Meanwhile, Prussia fights Denmark over Denmark's expansionist policies
• In 1860s, Prussia, most notably Bismark begins to eye a unified Germany, lead by Prussia (of course)

Benefits

• Free speech and Freedom of Press are improved in Germany
• Ultimately lead to unification of Germany

Negative Consequences

• No significant negative consequences, except from the perspective of Denmark

Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)

Prussian Soldiers at the Outskirts of Paris

• Spanish offer throne the nephew of Wilhelm I, the King of Prussia and future Kaiser of Germany
• French, feeling threatened by German encirclement attack Germans
• French fail miserably, Paris is occupied
• France is forced to pay concessions to Germany

Benefits

• French concessions prove to be useful in policies such as the Naval buildup mentioned above
• Causes a feeling of "Wow, we Germans are GREAT" among the general population
• Allows Prussia to cause Germany to unify

Negative Consequences

• No significant negative consequences for Germany
• French get completely and utterly screwed
• Inspired Lenin to overthrow the Czars, leading to the Soviet Union (and the spread of communism), leading to hostility between the USSR and the Western democracies even after World War II, leading to the Cold War, leading to the wars in Vietnam, Korea, Occupation of Afghanistan (No, not the one with the US and the Taliban, the one with the USSR and the US-sponsored Taliban), leading to a well equipped Taliban, leading to the War on Terror today.
• (Thanks for nothing, France).

Unification of Germany

A Painting of the Proclaimation of the German Empire

• In 1871 Germany was born
• Was a group of 39 different states before unification
• States were "German" because of their common language and culture
• Northern states were mainly protestant; the southern states were mainly Roman Catholic
• Prussia was the the main force behind the unification and look the leading role in the new German State

Benefits

• Strengthen Germany in numbers and resources
• Created nationalism and power
• Reduced probability of civil war breaking out

Negative Consequences

• Larger threat to other European countries, creating bigger conflicts

French Policy

• Bismark tries to keep France from having any allies
• Wilhelm II, who was a shortsighted moron dismisses Bismark
• Treaty with Russia lapses, allowing for a Russian-French alliance

Benefits

• None, considering it failed completely

Negative Consequences

• Germany was essentially encircled by the Triple Entente (The British-French-Russian Alliance) and ultimately lost World War I as a result
• Because Germany lost World War I, Nazi Party came to power.
• Thanks for nothing, Wilhelm II
• Then again, Germany still probably would have lost World War I, though the war might have dragged on a lot longer
• Though if the war was to drag on for longer, it is possible that Hitler (A random corporal on the Western Front in WWI) might have been killed. Since Hitler was the Nazi Party's best speaker and drummed up a lot of support, it is very possible that there would be no Nazis if Wilhelm wasn't a shortsighted idiot.
• Since Lenin did rely on the political instability of Russia preforming terribly in World War I to overthrow the Czars, it IS possible that there would be no USSR had Germany and Russia stayed allies, or had Russia stayed neutral to the French and as a result, neutral in World War I.

Turco-German Alliance

• Alliance between German Empire and Ottoman Empire
• Terms are as follows:

1. The two contracting parties agree to observe strict neutrality in regard to the present conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. (Both parties ignored this one)
2. In case Russia should intervene with active military measures, and should thus bring about a casus foederis for Germany with relation to Austria-Hungary, this casus foederis would also come into existence for Turkey. (Casus Foederis means that a treaty requires a country to take action, in laymans terms this means that if Germany goes to war with Russia due to an Austrian-German treaty, the Ottoman Empire has to join in too).
3. In case of war, Germany will leave her military mission at the disposal of Turkey. The latter, for her part, assures the said military mission an effective influence on the general conduct of the army, in accordance with the understanding arrived at directly between His Excellency the Minister of War and His Excellency the Chief of the Military Mission. (If war with Russia breaks out, Turkey's generals control the German and Turkish troops, although Turkey promises not to be an idiot)
4. Germany obligates herself, if necessary by force of arms Ottoman territory in case it should be threatened. (If anyone invades the Ottoman Empire, Germany has to help)
5. This agreement which has been concluded for the purpose of protecting both Empires from international complications which may result from the present conflict goes into force as soon as it is signed by the above-mentioned plenipotentiaries, and shall remain valid, together with any similar mutual agreements, until December 31, 1918.
6. In case it shall not be denounced by one of the high contracting parties six months before the expiration of the term named above, this treaty shall remain in force for a further period of five years.
7. This present document shall be ratified by His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia, and by His Majesty the Emperor of the Ottomans, and the ratifications shall be exchanged within a period of one month from the date of its signing.
8. The present treaty shall remain secret and can only be made public as a result of an agreement arrived at between the two high contracting parties.

In testimony whereof, etc.
Baron von Wangenheim (for Germany)
Said Halim (for Turkey)

Benefits

• Germany gets competent support on the Eastern Front of World War I

Negative Consequences

• Turkish participation in World War I leads to collapse of Ottoman Empire

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

• Siberian terrorists assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand
• Austrians declare war on Siberians despite the swift execution of the terrorists
• This probably was due to Siberia's hostility to Bulgaria during the Balkan Wars, and Bulgaria was an ally of Austria, so they used it as an excuse to kick off World War I.
• Germans come to support of Austrians
• French and Russians come to support of Siberians
• Germany declares war on France and Russia and invades Belgium because its in the way
• English declare war on Germany in support of Belgium
• World War I breaks out

Benefits

• No major benefits for all parties except for Lenin, Trotsky (at least for now) and the rest of the communists

Negative Consequences

• World War I breaks out
• 20 Million+ People die
• German Empire collapses

Sources

Schmidhuber, Jürgen'. "HABER AND BOSCH." Most influential persons of the 20th
century . N.p., 1999. Web. 30 Aug. 2011. <http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/
haberbosch.html>.

Unknown. Deutsch-französischer Krieg 1870/71, Paris, Belagerung. 1870. Deutsches
Bundesarchiv, Germany. Wikipedia. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H26707,_Deutsch-franz%C3%B6sischer_Krieg_1870-71,_Pari
s,_Belagerung.jpg>.

- - -. Linienschiff "SMS Deutschland." 1912. Deutsches Bundesarchiv.
Wikipedia. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.
File:Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-61-08,_Linienschiff_%22SMS_Deutschland%22.jpg>.

Werner, Anton Von. Die Proklamierung des Deutschen Kaiserreiches. 1885. Bismarck
Museum, Friedrichsruh. Wikipedia. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wernerprokla.jpg>.

“The Death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Outbreak of World War I.” 2011. The History Channel website. Aug 31 2011, 8:40 http://www.history.com/topics/the-death-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand-and-the-outbreak-of--world-war-i.

Duffy, Michael. "firstworldwar.com." Primary Documents - Turco-German Alliance,
2 August 1914. Unknown, 2009. Web. 1 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/turcogermanalliance.htm>.

1885 Benz. N.d. Mercedes-Benz of South Charlotte. N.p., 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 31
Aug. 2011. <http://blog.mbcharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/
1885Benz.jpg>.

train: 19th century passenger train. N.d. Britannica.com. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.


These links will help you to answer questions 1 & 2.

Here is a link for many primary docs-a lot are written in German, but not all. primary docs

Progress

Germany in the 19th century

Germany 1871-1914

Useful primary docs

The Franco-Prussian War

Bismarck

Great War timeline

German Revolution

German Imperialism information and primary sources
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